A closer look
Injecting people with a paralyzed version of a crippling disease was a massive gamble that paid off brilliantly. Jonas Salk bucked the scientific consensus of the 1950s by insisting that you didn't need a weakened live virus to build immunity; a chemically assassinated "killed" virus would work just fine. He proved it by testing the inactivated soup on his own family before launching the biggest public health trial in history, effectively ending polio's reign of terror and making him a medical rockstar.
